Exploratory trip to the Phuket region, seeking advice ...

I'm planning on coming to Phuket in Jan/Feb 2014.  The purpose of the trip is to look into the possibility of living there part time as well as taking a vacation. I'm 57, in good health, and I'm anticipating having an income of $1,500 a month.  I'm a water nut: snorkeling, diving, fishing, sailing, kayaking, etc. so I want to be reasonably near a beach area.  I like nature and cultural stuff too.

My needs are very simple: I've even lived in a RV before and had no problem with that.  I understand that the closer you live to the action the more expensive it is. I'd probably want something just a little bit away from it all but not totally remote. And although this is an exploratory trip I'll basically still be a tourist and will want to do most of the tourist type stuff. I'll be there almost 3 weeks.  I only shared all this so I can get advice that will help me make the most of my time (research and fun).

So, what I'm looking for is some advice, some pretty simple, basic, even stupid.  The general idea is to speed up the learning curve and also be more efficient and thorough while I'm there.

I'm considering flying from San Francisco to Phuket, possibly bypassing Bangkok.  I've never been on one of these super long flights and I have a sciatica condition so I was thinking of trying to find two medium length flights to break it up. Also, I've heard that some connecting airports (China?) require Visa's, this would be something I'd like to know in advance.  Any flight advice would be appreciated.

Once at the Phuket airport any thoughts on how to get to my hotel?  I've had those occasions where the "bus" took forever and I wished I just took a taxi so I figure it doesn't hurt to ask.

I plan on having a hotel reservation for the first few days while I settle in and acclimate.  After that I plan on just taking it day by day.  Any suggestions for a low-mod priced hotel for these first few days?  Other hotel recommendations? anywhere?

I will want to check out the expat areas in the region, where would these be?  I'm a bit of a loner but if I lived there I'd want to be around some other expats.

I will want to do the tourist stuff, how about a top 10 must do?  Tours? Sights? Adventures? But no rentals .....

I will want to do some island hoping and/or visit other areas in the region, suggestions?  I've heard you can rent beach huts on some of these little islands, anyone know of such a thing? Other cool things?

Any other suggestions or advice is also appreciated.

Thanks!